


Play On

by epherians



Series: Dork Lovers Holiday Stockings 2019 [2]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Band Fic, Character Study, Colors, Concerts, Gen, Gift Fic, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21983140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epherians/pseuds/epherians
Summary: “If music be the food of love, play on.” -Duke Orsino,Twelfth NightFour character studies inspired by fourHot Spacecolors and four concert performances.Written for TheStateOfConfusion in the Dork Lovers Holiday Stocking Exchange.
Series: Dork Lovers Holiday Stockings 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582399
Kudos: 15
Collections: DL Stockings 2019





	Play On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheStateOfConfusion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStateOfConfusion/gifts).



> While writing this, I purposely left out the names of the colors but each piece describes a specific outfit worn during a concert. See the end notes if you’re still stumped!

Freddie adored his flashy, outrageous costumes when he performed onstage, that it hadn’t occurred to him he had yet to wear the most eye-catching color of them all. When he saw that pair of shorts, striped like a popcorn box, he knew he HAD to wear it for their next set of concerts. It was quite possibly going to be the BEST surprise to give the audience, as well as the boys.

From the moment he shed his kimono and invited the “big spender” to spend a little time with him, Freddie felt liberated, freely in his own skin (considering how much of it he was showing). There was nothing better than being on stage, living his dreams, and singing his heart out—all in nothing but shorts and suspenders! Freddie was sure there were many jawdrops and stares, so he would have to give them an encore to remember.

—

John might’ve liked this color of the three he had worn so far. It was cool and reserved, just like him, and to quote the Goldilocks Rule of Three, it was just right. He was starting to find the style that worked and really, where was the harm in changing things up, trying something new for a change? John found his groove with the group’s most recent album work so he enjoyed playing from his own corner of the stage. The pulsing beats shook him to the core, the thump of the bass he was so in tune with allowed him a freedom to dance like he never had before.

No one would be watching him, anyway—that was what Freddie and Brian and Roger were for. For all that they had been through, John knew deep down there was nothing that could replicate the electrifying experience when the four of them played.

—

When Roger plays, his inner tempo just keeps going and going and at times it feels like he’s a machine—only the fastest human drumming machine who keeps everything going. Because what is tempo but the speed of music through time, and what happens to the music if the tempo stops?

_Let me have this moment,_ he remembered telling the others. _I promise I can handle it!_ Eleven years on with the greatest band ever and he hasn’t been stopped from making all the loud noise in the back. This time, he wants to go to the front, where the rhythm rolls like thunder and the mallets go THUD! But never once does he stop, can he stop, because a drummer keeps going where he is moved by the burning of his muscles, the heat of the adrenaline, the roar of the crowd…and the tempo right down to the resounding finish.

—

Never did Brian imagine coming back to this grand stage and having a moment in the limelight. He could never tire of this sight, playing out to the crowds who cheer him on when it’s his turn. Not even the rain could stop them from coming here in full force, and it’s their presence that makes him want to play better and better every time. In the blinding light, it’s just him and the Lady creating dozens of musical sounds to the crowd who echoes back, and no guitar solo is ever the same twice. Even in the rain, they make it fun for him. It’s times like these Brian wishes would never end, so he plays and plays for as long as the lights shine down on him, letting his song resonate out and hearing the people clamor for more.

Perhaps he never had to worry about looking for the stars, because music has brought Brian to an otherworldly realm right here on this earth.

**Author's Note:**

>   * Freddie: Popcorn Shorts, Races Tour (1976-77)
>   * John: Blue outfit, Live at the Bowl (1982)
>   * Roger: Dark shirt and green kerchief, Queen Rock Montreal (1981)
>   * Brian: Yellow-striped shirt, Queen at Wembley (1986)
> 



End file.
